


the measuring contest

by ColorMeParanoid



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Crossover, Established Relationship, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Missing Scene, s02e03 Hold the Line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29265846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorMeParanoid/pseuds/ColorMeParanoid
Summary: Hen snorted from her own cot. “Trust me, guys. This isn’t the kind of measuring contest you want to play with Buck because you will lose.”But, comparing scars and exchanging crazy stories when meeting other people in your profession was basically a rite of passage so of course they didn’t take her warning seriously. It became a challenge instead and Eddie settled in for the show.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 947





	the measuring contest

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so TK mentioned the volcano and Buck never mentioned the earthquake or the tsunami or the truck bombing or literally any of their craziest calls??? As much as I enjoyed the crossover, I wish we got more Buck content because ugh, such potential was wasted!

“How much will it cost me for you to never mention this truck incident to Bobby?” Buck asked with a grimace. As per usual, the consequences of his actions had only occurred to him long after he’d already broken the rules.

“I already texted Chimney,” Hen said from where she was laid out on her cot. With a lot of rest and extra oxygen, both Hen and Owen would be just fine. They've managed to reach them just in time.

Both crews were gathered with them in the medical tent, put in time out by the Commander for disobeying his direct order to stay put _and_ for stealing a firetruck. Eddie had a hard time feeling guilty about it. Maybe a few years ago he would have been since following the rules had been drilled into him since he was a young child and only reinforced by his time in the army. But after working right along Buck for years? Well, it was safe to say that he’d gotten used to working by his own set of rules if it meant saving lives. 

Buck simply sighed, dejected. “So, everyone already knows about it by now. Great.”

Eddie patted him on the back. “Look at the bright side. You can cross off another natural disaster from your list now.”

At least that got Buck to somewhat perk up.

“You have a list of natural disasters you worked on?” Marjan asked, incredulous. She was mostly keeping herself occupied by scrolling through her phone and updating her many followers about her newest adventure, but even she was tuning into this conversation now.

“More like survived,” Eddie said with a snort. “I still can’t believe you came out of this without even a single scratch.” Eddie narrowed his eyes as he looked Buck over. “You have, haven’t you?”

Because he wouldn’t put it past Buck to be horribly injured and just not say anything about it because he didn’t want to be a bother to anyone. Especially is he was also trying to look badass in front of the 126 crew.

Buck rolled his eyes. “I’m fine.” He turned to Marjan. “And yeah. After I survived three – plus a lot of other stuff in between – I figured why not keep track to see just how much the universe hates me.”

“That’s a little dramatic,” Paul said, abandoning his own phone. “How bad could it possibly be? We had a goddamn _volcano_ last week.”

Hen snorted from her own cot. “Trust me, guys. This isn’t the kind of measuring contest you want to play with Buck because you _will_ lose.”

Eddie just barely bit back his comment about the other measuring contests they could lose with Buck too, knowing that he used to unironically have the username “firehose” on dating sites. And, you know, actually seeing his dick on a regular basis. In Eddie's very biased opinion, it was definitely something to write home about.

But, comparing scars and exchanging crazy stories when meeting other people in your profession was basically a rite of passage so of course they didn’t take her warning seriously. It became a challenge instead and Eddie settled in for the show.

"Okay, first there was the earthquake," Buck started and TK immediately scoffed. He was sitting on his dad’s cot, trying to get him to stay and rest instead of going outside and getting himself into even more trouble. Eddie was intimately familiar with his struggle.

"You live in California," he said. "Earthquakes are basically a daily occurrence."

Buck held up a finger and typed something quickly on his phone before he showed it to the 126. "Yes, but this isn't."

Eddie didn’t even need to see the picture to know exactly what Buck was showing them. A crumbling high rise hotel, only hanging on by a few threads of reinforced steel.

"Holy shit," Mateo said, wide eyed.

"Yup," Buck agreed. "Eddie and I were right here at the top when the first aftershock hit. Then we had to find a way out through an elevator shaft and almost got crushed by a falling elevator." He paused for a moment. "This is not even the first time I nearly died because of an elevator. I almost drowned in one, remember Hen?"

Hen simply hummed and Eddie narrowed his eyes. "You what? Why didn't I know about this?"

Buck waved away his concern, like it didn't matter. Like him being in mortal danger wasn't a big deal. And, considering Buck's luck, Eddie supposed it wasn't.

"It was before you joined the team," Buck told him easily, going back to his story. "Anyway, the earthquake was an exciting one."

"He even got a girlfriend out of it," Hen commented and for some reason that came as an even bigger shock to everyone in the 126. They looked at Buck, then at Eddie and then back at Buck, visibly struggling to process this information. Eddie barely repressed his urge to smirk. They’ve been teasing him about his apparent crush on Buck all day; he’ll leave them in the dark for a little bit longer.

"You've got a girlfriend?" TK was the one who dared to asks and Buck shook his head.

"I had a girlfriend," he clarified. "She dumped me after I got crushed by a firetruck."

Owen snapped his fingers suddenly, startling them. Until now, Eddie was sure that he was sound asleep. " _That's_ why your name sounded so familiar. It was all over the news when it happened." He looked Buck over curiously. "Okay, I have to ask – and I mean this in the least offensive way possible – but how are you even still _alive_?"

Buck chuckled. "It's okay." He tugged at his pant leg and pulled it up to reveal the gnarly scaring left on his leg after the incident and many following surgeries. All in all, it healed surprisingly well and while the scaring was minimal, there was a lot of it. "Doctors said I got lucky that it only fell onto my leg. If it went any higher, I would have been done for. Hell, I got lucky they managed to save my leg at all, let alone fix it enough that I could eventually go back to work. It was very touch and go for a while there."

"So you had that crazy story tucked away and didn't bring it up first?" Judd raised an eyebrow in question and Buck shrugged, tugging his pants back in place.

"It tends to really bring the mood down when I do," he said. "Because it wasn't just the bombing. It was the clots that formed in my leg afterwards that resulted in a pulmonary embolism. Then I had to spend months living on blood thinners and made some more stupid decisions that nearly cost me my job for good. It was a pretty rough time in my life and not something fit for a casual conversation."

They nodded, understanding and Eddie watched as their initial impression of Buck as a reckless kid quickly changing into something different, something more. For all that Buck was friendly and kind, it took him a while to warm up to new people and he was an expert at making a horrible first impression. Hell, when Eddie first joined the team, Buck hated him on the spot and he wasn't exactly subtle about it, either.

But he warmed up to him really quickly, because Buck wasn't capable of holding a grudge to save his own life, and he was so intensely likable that no one could help but be at least mildly charmed by his contagious energy.

Buck just grew on you, like a very persistent fungus.

Even Marjan was looking grudgingly impressed, but she still said, "While that is impressive, I wouldn't count a bombing as a natural disaster."

"You're right," Buck easily agreed. "But a tsunami is."

"Whoa, wait a second," TK interrupted. "A tsunami?"

"The freak one a few years back that decimated the Santa Monica Pier?" Paul asked and Buck nodded.

"That very one."

"Wait a second," Owen said, struggling to sit up and shaking off TK's hands when he tried to force him back onto the bed. "The timeline doesn't add up. The tsunami happened pretty soon after the bombing and if you went through all of those health issues, there's no way you could have been working on the tsunami."

"Oh, I didn't work on it," Buck said. "I was _there_. Right when it hit."

He got that faraway look in his eyes like he always did when he was thinking about that day and Eddie reached out to squeeze his hand. They did their best to not broadcast their relationship while they were at work, but if Buck was opening up to these people who had quickly become their friends, what was he supposed to do? _Not_ support him?

Everyone noticed his gesture, a few eyebrows went up but no one mentioned it aloud. 

"Buck was on medical leave and he was spending the day at the pier with my son while I was at work," Eddie said, looking right at Buck with what was likely a ridiculous number of hearts in his eyes. "I didn't even know they were there until I literally ran into them, which shaved at least a decade off my life." He shook his head as he remembered that moment, probably the worst of his entire life and turned to their rapt audience. "But Buck saved his life."

"Eddie-" Buck tried and Eddie shut him up with a single sharp look.

"Do we need to have yet another conversation about natural disasters not being your fault?" he asked. “Because as far as I’m aware, you don’t actually have the power to control the weather. If you want to blame anyone, blame the people whose job it was to predict the appearance of a tsunami and who majorly fucked up.”

“He’s got you there, kid,” Judd easily agreed with Eddie. Eddie knew there was a reason he instantly liked him and they got along so well. “How did your son handle it?”

“Like a champ,” Buck said before Eddie could, beaming with pride. “By some miracle, he came out of the whole situation with only a few scratches and a giant grin on his face. That kid is my role model.”

“Funny, because that’s what he said, too,” Eddie said. “After it happened, all Christopher would talk about was Buck being a hero and saving all of those people. They even tried giving Buck an award when the pier reopened for his incredible bravery that day but he refused.”

Buck blushed, still not good with accepting praise he rightfully deserved. Oh, he’d still brag about the stupidest, most inconsequential shit and daring rescues, but when it actually mattered? He would barely acknowledge it.

"Wow," Mateo said, all but swooning. "You're like a real life Captain America."

Buck smirked, giving Eddie a very inappropriate look considering their surroundings. "I even have the costume."

And that was enough to break through the tension, making everyone laugh. Eddie didn’t bother pointing out that the costume was for a Halloween event that Buck got at Christopher’s insistence, long before they got together. He doubted that anyone would buy it anyway, which is probably what Buck was aiming for. If they were unsure of their relationship status before, this surely cleared it right up.

“So, there you have it,” Buck announced, still chuckling. “I’m practically invincible.”

“Welcome to the club,” Owen muttered from his cot and TK snapped, “Dad! You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I am resting,” Owen insisted. “My eyes are closed. That’s basically like sleeping.”

TK simply sighed, resigned to his father’s antics. Their relationship really reminded Eddie of Buck’s and Bobby’s relationship and the way that Hen was fondly looking at them, it seemed that she very much agreed.

“What was the third natural disaster?” Mateo asked with a frown. “You said three, but you only mentioned two.”

“We had a mudslide a week ago,” Eddie said. “But surprisingly enough, neither one of us came close to death this time.”

Buck blinked at him, clearly taken aback. “You’re right.” He grimaced. “But it does make me wonder what horrible thing is going to happen next.”

“I think Hen’s adventure with the helicopter filled out our quota of near death experiences for the month.”

“You’re welcome,” Hen said, not even looking away from her phone. She was probably doing damage control with Karen who was going to lose her mind when she found out what happened. Because she would find out, that much was certain. Eddie almost felt bad for Hen; Karen was a force to be reckoned with when she was angry, even more so when she was worried.

“You were right, Hen,” Paul said. “Buck definitely wins. Though that’s not much of a prize if you ask me. But he’s definitely got the best stories, I’ll give him that.”

Buck grinned, preening but Eddie shook his head. “Sorry, Buck. But I’m going to have to disagree. I think even without him here, Chimney still wins the title for the craziest story.”

“I was working on the call, though,” Buck tried to argue. “So technically, his crazy story is also my crazy story.”

Eddie gave him an incredulous look. “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you the one with a piece of rebar going through your head?”

“Wait,” Judd cut in. “You know rebar guy?”

“He’s actually real?” Marjan asked, looking incredulous. “It’s not just some exaggerated rumor?”

“He’s about to have a baby with my sister,” Buck said. “So I’d say he’s very much real.”

Judd leaned in closer, absolutely brimming with curiosity, much like the rest of his team. “Tell us everything.”

So Buck did. He told them all about the day they got the call, Hen jumping in every once to fill in the gaps in Buck’s story with actual medical facts. Hen had just finished exchanging numbers with Owen and promised to send him x-rays from Chimney’s accident when the Commander came in to give them an update. The fire was finally under control and the 118 was free to return home.

“I guess this is it, then,” Eddie said. “It was great meeting you, guys.”

Judd immediately came in for a brief hug. “You too, man. If you’re ever back in Texas, don’t hesitate to stop by for a visit.”

“Of course,” Eddie said, already planning out the next trip in his head.

They said their goodbyes and made promises to stay in touch before they went to get cleaned up and grabbed all of their gear. As much as Eddie loved Texas, he couldn’t wait to return home either. To his son, to his usual routine because life has been crazy lately. Things were still fairly new between him and Buck, too, even if they didn’t feel that way and he couldn’t wait to be back in their usual routine to fully explore the bounds of their new relationship.

“Do you think we could catch a tornado while we’re in Texas?” Buck asked as they settled back into their truck and Hen groaned.

“Buck, please don’t tempt fate.”

He had a feeling Buck wasn’t going to rest until he got at least one tornado sighting, even if it didn’t happen today, and someone had to be there to keep him out of trouble when it inevitably did, so it might as well be Eddie.

Yeah, they were definitely going to be seeing the 126 again. Hopefully, under much better circumstances.


End file.
